Navy condemns raunchy videos

Swift action garners praise from gay-rights groups

by Greg Jaffe - Jan. 4, 2011 12:00 AMWashington Post

The Navy moved quickly on Monday to pledge to investigate videos in which a senior officer uses anti-gay slurs and mimics masturbation, while a prominent gay-rights group praised the military's condemnation of the videos.

Capt. Owen Honors, who commands the USS Enterprise, based in Norfolk, Va., stars in the videos that were aired on the aircraft carrier's closed-circuit television system in 2006 and 2007 when he was the ship's second in command. The videos have made Honors an Internet sensation.

"What we see here is, unfortunately, a 49-year-old Navy captain acting like a 19-year-old fraternity boy," said Aubrey Sarvis, executive director of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, which has advocated for gay military members. "There is no place for that type of frat-house behavior."

Honors appeared in the videos while he was the USS Enterprise's executive officer. He took command of the ship, which is expected to deploy soon, in May. The man who captained the ship in 2006 and 2007 has been promoted to rear admiral.

It is not clear why the videos are surfacing now or whether the Navy investigated the videos earlier and decided to promote Honors to the USS Enterprise's top job despite their content.

But once the videos surfaced on the Internet, the Navy moved quickly to condemn them.

"Production of videos, like the ones produced four to five years ago on USS Enterprise and now being written about in the Virginian-Pilot, were not acceptable then and are not acceptable in today's Navy," said Cmdr. Chris Sims, a Navy spokesman. "The Navy does not endorse or condone these kinds of actions. Those in command . . . are charged to lead by example and are held accountable for setting the proper tone and upholding the standards of honor, courage and commitment that we expect sailors to exemplify."

Since the story broke, hundreds of current and past Enterprise crew members have created Facebook accounts to support Honors. Another site with far fewer "friends" condemns him and calls for his resignation.

"Capt. Honors is a very professional person, but he knew when to have fun," Colorado native Jessica Zabawa wrote in an e-mail to the Associated Press. She served on the Enterprise from 2007 to last September. "Capt. Honors knows when to be serious and when it's time to unwind."

Ryan Adams, now a student at Virginia Tech, left the Navy in 2009 after serving in 2006 and 2007 on the Enterprise. "Everyone I know who worked on the Enterprise is backing him 100 percent," Adams said.

Every sailor interviewed by the AP said they had heard no complaints on board about Honors' skits.

It is unlikely that the videos, which include several anti-gay slurs, will have any effect on the Pentagon's efforts to allow gay men and lesbians to serve openly. "Most of your service members are professionals," Sarvis said. "I don't see any implications to transitioning to openly gay service for gays and lesbians."

The Pentagon hasn't said how long it will take to clear the way for gays to serve openly in the military after Congress voted last month to repeal the "don't ask, don't tell" law.